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The first gallery from the 2023 Handmade Bicycle Show Australia did offer several tantalising, wheeled steeds. And I’m confident this second gallery (and the two still to come!) will not disappoint.
Let's plunge into this feast of rideable art.
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Consistent with how Curve has previously attended the Handmade Bicycle Show, the brand was present with a number of previously unseen and still-prototype products. It’s clear the Australian company has ambitions to dabble in an even higher-end segment of the market than currently, as is evident from this prototype Belgie Air MN. "A gold star for anyone who can guess what the 'MN' stands for," said Curve's Jesse Carlsson. "It's all internally routed, so we called it the Mechanic's Nightmare."The name doesn't really live up to its hype as the 3D-printed headtube makes it easier to work on than first expected."Curve is an open book when speaking about where its products are made (hint, not Australia). That said, the company has plans to bring more things in house, including the final assembly and bonding of this titanium and carbon frame.Just out of focus is a new prototype G4T wheelset that aims to save weight and offer a near perfect finish straight from the mould. The unpainted rim has a high-end look, similar to what Campagnolo has achieved with its latest top-tier wheels. The use of an integrated carbon seatube through a titanium lug gives undeniable Prova Speciale Ti vibes. No question, Prova is a good one to be inspired by.While not confirmed, inside the head tube I expect to find a round steerer, with the brake hoses run through the centre of a top 1.5" headset bearing. It's the most common approach to such integration.More 3D-printed titanium components are seen at the dropouts. Curve's China-based manufacturer now has this capability in-house, so expect to see this tech become more widespread. Also, see that sneaky SRAM UDH?The Air Kev. Just like the regular Kevin (GXR), but made lighter and more performance-focused with elements learned from the Belgie Air. The geometry is expected to be unchanged from the GXR.The Air Kev removes many of the M5 accessory mounting points in an effort to reduce weight.Unlike the Belgie Air, the Air Kev is likely to feature a non-integrated seatpost.I love a good head badge, and Curve's 'Cocky' Cockatoo is right up there.The Air Kev is yet another new gravel bike to adopt SRAM's UDH system. It's looking increasingly clear that the UDH – which allows the fitment of SRAM's new 'Transmission' – is going to become a standard fitment on future gravel bikes.Also in the prototype phase is a carbon version of Curve's Walmer handlebar. The carbon version won't go to such ridiculous 60 cm widths, rather sticking to more mainstream 43, 46, and 50 cm options (as measured across the hood section). Of course it saves weight, but it also offers a flatter section on the tops and a likely smoother ride, too.You can't have a Handmade show in Australia without Andy White from Fyxo. I took a little over 1,000 photos across the weekend and I dare say Andy took far more.Based in Northern Rivers (most likely known for Byron Bay), New South Wales, Woods Bicycle Co is making a habit of showing up to the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia with a talking-point piece or two. Pictured here is the next iteration of the integrated bike revealed last year.It's the same photo as seen at the top of the article, just sharing it again as this bike is quite lovely. This model will be called the Road Runner.Brothers Zac and Josh Woods are now onto their fifth design iteration for the cable routing. On the outside of this frame you’ll find a rather regular tapered head tube that’s designed for a 1 1/8" steerer and regular-sized bearing up top. Meanwhile, inside you’ll find a round steerer which means there’s far more to this system than the eye can see. The system isn’t quite ready for sharing, but it involves a heavily reinforced steerer with a slot that feeds the rear hose into the down tube. A boilermaker by trade, Zac Woods handles all the fabrication. Woods Bicycle Co deals almost exclusively in TIG-welded steel frames.Carbon Steed takes care of the lovely painted fade.This bike was made for Josh’s partner, kitted out with Darimo cockpit components and Campagnolo’s Super Record EPS 12 (wired) groupset. The Woods brothers do a consistently good job of creating clean bikes.It's all in the details. The brothers had a number of steel beauties in tow, including a new long-travel high-pivot mountain bike with an adjustable shock position that I regrettably seem to have not captured. Any way, this sleek road bike provides strong evidence that Woods remains one to follow. The Handmade Bicycle Show Australia had local artist Luke Rabl on the floor painting up this blank canvas. The tubes were provided by Columbus (another exhibitor) and built into a frame by Woods Bicycle Co.A work in progress. Much like Woods' mountain bike, I somehow failed to get a photo of the finished product.Darrell 'Llewellyn' McCulloch wasn't present at this year's show, but as a driving force behind the show's existence, it seemed fitting to find one of his bikes near the entrance. The bike appears to be the oversized-tubed Colossus that was first shown back in 2018.After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Melbourne-based Project Flock has its biomotion-based rear light in the final stages of design for manufacturing.Trinity MTB produces bikes well outside the usual scope of what we do at Escape Collective. That said, this is one brand I've been closely following since its inception, and the rate of development and testing is nothing short of incredible. This virtual high-pivot enduro/downhill bike features the patented i-Track suspension design and offers a unique modular bottom bracket section that allows for the fitment of various gearbox transmissions, a regular derailleur-type drivetrain, or perhaps, Trinity's own system.Mic Williams takes care of the engineering for Trinity MTB while also running his own components company, WRP. Pictured is an earlier and well-beaten prototype of the Trinity MTB that is running Mic's own prototype gearbox system.It looks hella complicated, but it's not too dissimilar to a standard derailleur-based drivetrain that's been moved in front of the bottom bracket. This is very much in prototype form and Mic has been openly sharing the development process on Instagram.It's hard to see inside with the rear shock in place, but the system is inspired by the 'derailleur in a can' gearbox that Honda created for its mid-2000s downhill race bikes. Mic's design actually shifts the cassette, meaning the chainline is always straight.I've seen this system slowly come together and still found myself somewhat in awe while looking at this photo. And yes, that is a wireless to mechanical shifter conversion from Archer Components shoved into the space.Mic brought the bike to show still covered in the fine dust of Cairns, Queensland from the recent CrankWorx event. There he participated in every event except for the slopestyle. These prototypes are being put through the wringer.In a room full of beautifully painted bikes, it sure takes something special to stand out. Steve Munyard of Sun Graphics managed just that with this Roxsolt Liv SRAM team bike that was impressively painted to match the team kit.Don't adjust your screens, this isn't your dream bike from a decade ago. No, it's a wholly new custom carbon frame from new entrant Chris Palmer of Palmer Bikes. As a career chassis engineer from the automotive world (for names such as Holden, Ford, Toyota, and Tesla), Palmer's skillset is seemingly well aligned to making bike frames.A long-time weight-weenie, Palmer's first few bikes are based around rim brakes and relatively lightweight components. The frame here is said to be near 1 kg. Palmer speaks of a smooth ride quality, something the integrated seatpost aims to deliver in a consistent manner. Simple ownership and easy servicing are other design factors.These bikes are fully custom. The tubes are sourced from a specialist manufacturer, but made to Palmer's specifications.Palmer is based in Victoria's Macedon Ranges.The frames are made with a traditional wrapped tube-to-tube method. In a nutshell, the tubes are mitred to snugly fit against the adjoining piece, and are then wrapped in reinforcing carbon fibre. This is similar to how the likes of Parlee, FiftyOne, and Tsubasa make their custom frames.The dropouts are stainless steel. This cable routing path is fairly unique and attempts to create a more natural path for the housing.The brake bridge is also stainless steel.To date, Palmer hasn't created a disc brake bike. I don't expect such a statement will last all too long.The show has grown to attract many more mainstream component brands, and a waitlist exists to get in. Reserve (a division of PON Holdings) was there with wheels and boxes of its Fillmore tubeless valves. These valves have proven effective at easing tubeless setup (due to the high-flow design) and solving the annoyance of sealant clogs.Designed for on-and-off bike usage, Frameworks Designs is a Melbourne-based bag manufacturer with a classic style.All of the bags are produced by owner Tia. Everything is made to be weatherproof and for heavy usage, and for this reason Tia tends to prefer using roll-top closures wherever possible. They're designed for everything from commuting through to bikepacking. While many of the bags are kept in stock and ready-to-order, the frame bags are custom made to order. Products start from AU$149 (US$99).Melbourne-based G.Duke is a steel frame and stem maker who typically builds with a more traditional lugged construction. The owner of this bike lives across the USA and Vietnam and wanted a replica of their 1970s LeJeune track bike to feel more at home when riding the streets of Hanoi. The geometry, components, and even tube diameters are all designed to feel like the first and original bike.Geoff Duke specialises in classic-looking bikes made with more traditional methods. Geoff is also the one to call if you're in Melbourne and need a repair on an old frame or looking for a suitable quill stem.What to do when you can't get traditional frame lugs to match modern component fitments? You make them, of course. Geoff has previously handmade tapered head tube lugs, and now he's turning T47 bottom bracket shells into lugs.Just a little teaser of something you'll see in part three. You won't want to miss this one.
